The following story about an American white pelican was submitted by Marine Science Center in Florida.
This young adult American white pelican came to us from Sanford, Florida. The bird was found swimming in a pond with a severe wing droop. The bird was rescued by staff utilizing kayaks.
On intake, the bird was thin (weighing 5.7 kilograms or 12.5 pounds), dehydrated, and had low total protein on blood work. The injury to the wing was too severe to heal properly.
We started the bird on EmerAid IC Piscivore, 120 milliliters three times a day. When the total protein had returned to normal levels, we began hand-feeding sardines. We discontinued hand-feeding once the bird was reliably eating on its own.
When the bird was at a healthy weight (6.7 kilograms, or about 14.7 pounds), we performed surgery to amputate a portion of the wing. The bird was transferred to another facility to be an education ambassador inside their American white pelican exhibit.